


Normal Isn't That Much to Ask

by CrimeAlley1048



Category: Batfamily - Fandom, Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), Batman and Robin (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-24 16:56:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3776296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimeAlley1048/pseuds/CrimeAlley1048
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stephanie and Damian go to the aquarium. Minor chaos ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Normal Isn't That Much to Ask

So it turned out that “normal days” didn’t exist. That’s how Steph had pitched it to him— Hey, come on we’ll go have fun. You’re ten, and you haven’t been to any of the nice places in the city yet. (Yes, there are nice places. No, the children’s museum doesn’t count. We were on a case.) It’ll be great, just a normal day. I mean, if you ever want to go under cover effectively, you’ll have to learn how to blend in, right?  
Normal wasn’t going so well.  
It really had been going fabulously at first. Steph pulled up at the manor at noon— exactly on time for once. Damian was still grumpy about the whole deal, but she’d expected that. They went to get lunch at one of Stephanie’s favorite diners, the one that served breakfast until two in the afternoon. Delicious. Damian griped about the decor a bit, but he hadn’t said anything about the food. Totally a good sign. Steph had really enjoyed herself.  
After lunch, they went to the aquarium. Steph liked it in there— one of the exhibits was built like a giant glass cave. You walked through a tunnel, and there was water all around you, and you could see the undersides of the stingrays swimming above your head. Damian was fascinated. She could tell. Okay, so he never stopped complaining,— _“Blah blah blah something about the league of assassins blah blah I killed a shark like that when I was six—”_ but he never stopped watching the fish either, so Steph was feeling pretty pleased with herself.  
Of course, then it got complicated.  
They were walking out of the aquarium. There was this room at the end, with one door leading to the gift shop and another one that went outside. It was kind of like a hallway, decorated with the cute kind of arts and crafts kids make during field trips. When they walked in, it was empty. Then these two guys stepped out from the gift shop.  
“Stephanie Brown?”  
Right, that wasn’t suspicious at all. “Yes?”  
“Arthur Brown’s daughter?”  
Ohhhh great, that _really_ wasn’t good. Steph’s dad was kind of a supervillain. He was lame, sure, but sometimes he had powerful friends. Or you know, enemies.  
“Yes?”  
One of the men pulled a gun out of his coat. “I need you to come with me.”  
Well. That answered her question. She looked down at Damian. He was starting to get that look on his face, the one that reminded her of the shark he’d been talking about back in the exhibit. She should probably reign that in while she had the chance.  
“Okay, but… can my friend leave?”  
Damian glared at her and raised his hands in a “what are you doing?” kind of motion. The gunmen considered it.  
“If he goes now, fine.”  
Steph hoped Damian was feeling cooperative today. Miracles happen, right?  
“Okay, hold on. He doesn’t speak English.”  
She turned back to Damian. _“Just follow me on this one, deal?”_  
He looked confused for a few seconds. Maybe he was admiring her Arabic. (It was getting really good, thank you very much.)  
_“What the hell are you doing?”_  
 _“I’m handling the situation. So what are we going to do?”_  
 _“What do you mean handling the situation? This isn’t even a situation. This is like, two punches. Maybe three.”_  
 _“We’re not attacking them. They know my name.”_  
 _“So?”_  
 _“So some of us leave the house on a regular basis, and we have these things called ‘secret identities’ to protect.”_  
 _“You’re hilarious. I’m punching them.”_  
 _“No, you’re not.”_ Stephanie threw a glance back at the gunmen. They were starting to look suspicious. “Sorry, I have to explain…”  
“Get him out of here now.”  
“Yeah I’m— _okay seriously leave.”_  
 _“What?”_  
 _“Yes.”_  
 _“No way.”_  
 _“Yes way, child, go now.”_  
 _“Look, if they know your father, don’t you think they already know about the night job thing? We should just attack them.”_  
 _“If they knew about the ‘night job thing’ don’t you think they would be pointing something bigger than a gun at me? “_  
 _“Well with your particular reputation, I kind of doubt it.”_  
 _“See if I ever take you anywhere nice again. Hold on, ignore this next bit_ — Damian, just go! Leave now!”  
_“You call that acting?”_  
 _“Seriously, you’re criticizing me? I’m about to get shot! You could try and look a little more upset.”_  
“Alright, that’s enough. If he’s not out of here in three seconds—“  
“I’m trying, I’m trying! Just— _Damian, come on. Go get Dick or Bruce or whoever. I don’t care. You leave. I go with them. Come back with a batman. Okay?”_  
 _“How about I just go change?”_  
 _“Right, because that isn’t shady at all. Pint-sized Arabic kid shows up in a yellow… um…?_  
 _“Cape?”_  
 _“Yeah, that. Pint-sized Arabic kid in a yellow cape five minutes after the other one walks out the door. Completely innocent.”_  
 _“So just let me take them now.”_  
 _“I told you no.”_  
 _“Or what?”_  
 _“Or I’m calling Tim. And I’m telling him about the camera you put in his room yesterday.”_  
Damian glared at her. _“How do you even know about that?”_  
It took a lot of effort not to smile. _“Leave.”_  
_“Fine,”_ he snapped, and he walked out the door. The man with the gun gestured her towards the gift shop.  
“I’m going. No need to point that thing at me… Uh, where are we headed? Because, dunno if you’ve heard this, my dad’s actually in Arkhman right now, so…”  
“Shut up.”  
“Okay then.” No-gun man held open the door. Steph stepped through.  
“There’s a van out back. You’re going to get in it.”  
“Whatever you say, I guess.” They passed through the shop. The van was parked right outside the door— just your typical large, white kidnapper car. Real creative.  
No-gun man offered her a hand. Perfect gentleman, this one. Steph took it and climbed in the back. They shut the doors behind her.  
So how long would it take a ten year old ninja to find a parental figure? Stephanie figured maybe fifteen minutes. Twenty, tops? It wasn’t like she was in a huge rush or anything, but she actually did have a french paper to write, and the vehicle was in motion. Steph sat on the floor.  
On the plus size, the last time something like this had happened, she’d been wearing a floor length dress. The jeans were an improvement. She’d been with Tim that time— really, she should just stop taking Waynes out in public. That was probably the simple solution. Speaking of, any minute now Damian. Any minute would be good.  
Well. Guess there was nothing to do but wait it out. Stephanie took out the pen she’d stolen from the gift shop (decorated with dolphins) and started poking a hole through the metal. It didn’t take very long. It was half-rusted anyway. She put her eyes up to the hole.  
Oh, they were moving east. That was good: closer to the Bunker. Steph hummed to herself. This shouldn’t take much longer. She stuck her pen through the gap and carved out a message— “Yo over here.”  
That ought to take care of it. Steph lay back on the floor, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the inevitable—  
THUMP  
Whoops, there it was—“It” being a large dent in the roof of the van. The yelling started a few seconds later. Stephanie rolled to the left as the van swerved erratically, bumping some kind of building. She stuck her head out of the hole she’d made long enough to see the gentleman kidnapper get thrown from the shotgun seat. Then another head poked out the window, this one wearing a cowl.  
“Everything okay?” Dick yelled back at her. She knew it was Dick because he was grinning excitedly.  
“Um, yeah? Quick question? Who’s driving?”  
“He’s kind of pissed at you. Something about blackmail?”  
“Yeah, that rings a bell. So are we done here?”  
“Yep. Pulling over now.”  
The van skidded to a stop so hard that Stephanie was yanked back inside the car, across the floor, and into the other wall. She peeled her head off the metal and sighed.  
“Was that really necessary?”  
The doors swung open to reveal an extremely grumpy pre-teen in a cape. He mock-bowed at her and gestured towards Dick, who was coming up the side.  
“A batman, your majesty. As you requested.”  
Dick nudged him out of the way. “Chill.” He offered Steph an arm.  
“So is there anyone left I can punch, or…?”  
Dick grimaced. “Nobody conscious. Sorry.” He leaned in closer. “So what do you have on Damian? ‘Cause honestly, I would love to know.”  
Steph shook her head. “Nice try.” She was still mad at Tim, so the camera could stay for at least a couple of days.  
“Worth a shot,” he muttered. Damian rolled his eyes.  
“Great day,” he told her. “Very normal. So glad I finally got to experience the civilian life.”  
“Oh, come on, you had fun. Admit it.”  
“I’m pretty sure I’ve already told you that I don’t do fun. That was not fun. Except for the part where I got to kick a petty criminal through a window.”  
“It’s a start, I guess,” Stephanie groaned, massaging her head. “Want to do it again next week?”  
“No,” Damian said. He started to walk away. “Maybe. I can’t guarantee I’ll be available.”  
“Uh huh. I’ll call your people.”  
He kept walking. Dick nodded at her appreciatively. “Nice. I think you got him hooked.”  
“Hell yeah,” she told him. “See you next week.”


End file.
